By this time the last few years, Mike and his crew were preparing to compete in the WKA (World Karting Association) national event in North Carolina to kick off the racing season. The WKA made some large rule changes (for Mike's division) this year which would require Mike and his crew to purchase two new (approx. $1500. each) motors along with the usual new parts and accessories for the season in order to compete. Unfortunately, we were unable to raise enough money to attend the national event in March. We continue to save money and look for sponsors so that Mike may be able to compete again later in the 2008 season or early in the 2009 season. Mike is very disappointed that he is unable to go racing as he still loves racing and hopes he can get back to the track again, soon. We will do our best to keep everyone posted on when Mike will be headed back to the race track. Thank you all for your continued interest.
2007 Season Update:
Mike’s 2007 season proved to be a better season than the previous one, although it has still been a learning process for both Mike and his crew. Along with competing in the WKA (World Karting Association) national series, Mike also competed in the WKA divisional series held at Chapel Hill Raceway in Humphrey, NY.
The 2007 season continued to be a big challenge for Mike and his crew with the WKA changing the type of tires that were to be used for the season thus changing how to set up the kart significantly. Although Mike and his crew were unable to utilize their notes from the previous season due to the new tire rule, Mike proved to be very competitive throughout the season. Mike completed the season in 5th place in both the lite and heavy classes for the divisional series. Mike finished in 11 th place for the junior sportsman champ heavy class and in 12 th place in the lite class for the national series.
It has been predicted that the WKA will be changing the requirements for the type of motor to run in the junior sportsman champ2 divisions in which Mike competes for the 2008 season. With this in mind and with your continued support for the 2008 season, Mike hopes to raise enough money for two new motors in addition to the usual expenses of the season in order to compete in the 2008 season. Thank you to all our 2007 sponsors because without you, none of this would be possible for Mike to get closer to his dream.
Sept. 21st to 23rd
This weekend was the last national race of the season for Mikey in his Keystone Automotive sponsored junior sportsman champ2 go kart. Mother nature was very cooperative as we had a beautiful weekend at Chapel Hill Raceway in Humphrey, NY. Mikey and his crew chief (dad) fought to find the best setup for the kart during Friday's all day practice.
On Saturday, it was the lite division that Mikey would compete in first. Mikey qualified his go kart in tenth place which puts him on the outside row to start the race. It's a rough place to start, but Mikey did well in the beginning moving up several positions. Unfortunately the kart seemed to just go away from him and get slower as Mikey fell back all the way to finish the race in the twelfth spot.
On Sunday, Mikey qualified in the heavy division in the eleventh spot putting him in the much wanted inside row. The group was lined up nice and tight for the start of the race as a few karts in the back row starting fighting for position going into turn three before coming around to the green flag. As the karts came out the turn, it turned into a very confusing mess. Mikey's kart flew up into the air over another kart, did a pirouette (surprisingly not landing upside down) and slammed back down on the track then rolled toward the start finish line. There were karts all over as the yellow flag flew instead of the green. WKA (World Karting Association) officials scrambled to the racers to check on them. Mikey tried frantically to get his kart to move and let the official know that it wouldn't go. Rob (Mikey's dad & crew chief) rushed over with the WKA official to see if they could get him going. At first glance, it appeared that the chain had just fallen off, but at closer look the motor had actually slid backwards and hard as he tried, Rob couldn't just push it back into place without tools. (No tools are allowed out there to help) Mikey had to leave the track as his competitors went on to complete the race. Although we were all disappointed that Mikey was unable to compete, we were relieved that Mikey was unharmed. At an even closer look at Mikey's kart back in the pit area, it was decided that it was better that Rob was unable to move the motor as there was so much damage to the right front tire, rim and spindle that Mikey probably would have ended up in another wreck when the kart wouldn't turn.
Stay tuned to the website as we will be updating it soon to let you know where Mikey placed in the final standings for the national and divisional series this season.
Saturday August 25th
Mikey attended his last divisional race of the season on Saturday August 25th at Chapel Hill Raceway in Humphrey, NY. Mikey awoke on Saturday morning to find out that it was a beautiful day, not raining like we expected it to be. Mikey was able to compete in both the junior sportsman champ 2 lite and heavy division despite the fact that the rain would be coming again soon. Mikey and his competitors drew numbers to expedite qualifying with the bad weather on it's way. Mikey ran his best 2 races of the season.
The first race was the heavy division where Mikey would start in the second spot, he was getting ready to pass for the lead when he and the third place car made contact. They were both able to continue, but lost a lot of ground on the leader and with not having enough laps left to catch him, Mikey was able bring his Keystone Automotive kart to a 3rd place finish!
The second race was the lite division where Mikey started in the third spot. He and the pole sitter took off right away when the green flag flew. Mikey started to fall back just enough for the third place car to catch up to him and pass him. Mikey drove very smart by getting right on his bumper to catch his draft making it possible to catch the leader together. Mikey and the number 66 of Payton Snyder were able to pass the leader with two laps to go. On the last lap Mikey gave it his all and came across the finish line side by side finishing in 2nd place by only a few inches! Mikey hopes to do just as well in the last WKA (World Karting Association) National Event of the season which will be held at Chapel Hill Raceway in September.
May 19 & 20, 2007
Mikey traveled with his crew to Humphrey, NY to participate in a WKA (World Karting Assoc.) divisional series event held at Chapel Hill Raceway. Although, the weather wasn't perfect for the weekend throughout New England, Mikey was still able to have some fun racing.
On Saturday, Mikey qualified 7th in both the lite and heavy divisions with his Rage junior sportsman champ go kart. Mikey's car was running well in the heavy division when the caution flag flew on the last lap. Mikey has always been taught to slow down under caution, but unfortunately because it was the last lap Mikey should have continued to race back to the checkered flag. When Mikey slowed because of the caution, it caused him to lose a few spots but still finish in 6th place. Later in the afternoon, Mikey brought his Keystone Automotive sponsored go kart all the way into 3rd place in the lite division before making contact with another competitor in the middle of turns three and four. After making contact, Mikey fell back, but didn't give up and was able to finish in 5th place.
On Sunday, mother nature decided to make racing a little more difficult. It took several go karts driving on the track under caution to dry the track out. After drying the track, there was only time for the karters to go on the track for one full practice round. With the rain on it's way, everyone hurried to get ready for qualifying. Mikey was excited to find out that he qualified 3rd in the lite division and 5th in the heavy division. Mikey was looking forward to starting near the front of the pack in his next two races only to find that mother nature was going to make it impossible to race. Mikey would still be happy, though because the WKA considers their qualifying position their race finish when the race has been cancelled due to rain. Mikey will return to Chapel Hill Raceway for the WKA national event scheduled in June.
Two top 10 finishes !
March 17 & 18 2007
Ten year old Mikey Arel (5 th grader @ Gateway Middle School) of Huntington, MA recently attended his first race of the season at Lowe’s motor speedway in Concord, NC. Although practice day was rained out, Mikey still had some fun by visiting some of the NASCAR race shops. He especially enjoyed visiting the RCR (Richard Childress Racing) museum, where he saw a lot of memorabilia of his favorite driver, Dale Earnhardt Sr.
On Saturday, Mikey finally got into his Keystone Automotive go kart for the first time since last October in Riverhead, NY where he was unable to finish the race because his car was destroyed in a wreck. The WKA (World Karting Association) made the decision to have a longer practice session before the race on Saturday due to Friday’s rained-out practice. This was helpful for Mikey to get a good feel for things and help his crew chief, dad (Rob Arel) make the proper adjustments to his go kart. Mikey’s lap time was quick enough for him to qualify for an 11 th place starting spot. Mikey’s division would be the last race of the day and with the extended practice for all divisions, that meant that Mikey wouldn’t actually race until 10:00 p.m. Mikey was able to gain a few spots when the green flag flew but by the end of the race, he finished in 10 th place.
Mikey arrived at the track at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday and although he was very tired from a very long day on Saturday, he was very excited with his finish and ready to go for his next race. When Mikey came off the track from qualifying his Rage junior sportsman champ go kart, he was told he was currently in the 2 nd spot. Unfortunately, Mikey didn’t keep that spot as many of the other racers still had to qualify, but it was exciting for a few minutes to be that close. Mikey ended up qualifying with a 12 th place starting spot for the race. When the green flag flew, Mikey gained a couple of spots before the yellow flag came out. The race was restarted and Mikey got up as far as fifth place, but fell back to 7 th place where he would finish the race as the yellow flag came out again with the checkered flag. Mikey’s next race will be at Orange County Raceway in Rougemont, NC in April.w
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Riverhead, NY October 7th and 8th 2006
Mikey brought his crew to Riverhead Speedway in Riverhead, NY on Oct. 7th and 8th for the last WKA (World Karting Association) north east divisional race of the 2006 season. Mikey attended practice on Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mikey had never raced on this track before and he was anxious to get started. He got a few tips from other drivers that had raced there before. He walked the track before practice started to look it over and noticed that it was a pretty rough surface. Practice went very well for Mikey, he was able to pick up the driving line rather quickly and turn some quick laps. After practice Mikey and his crew felt that the car was handling well enough to run a very competitive race on Sunday and possibly get a top five finish. This would be very important to Mikey and his team after having a very tough season.
On Sunday Mikey returned to the racetrack to give it his best shot. Mikey was a little nervous about qualifying as he is still working on improving his qualifying efforts. The junior sportsman champ-lite division was the first for him to qualify in and he had one of his best qualifying efforts so far. Mikey qualified in the 5th position and he along with his crew were very excited! Then it was time to prepare for qualifying for the junior sportsman champ-heavy division. After getting his car weighed, Mikey anxiously waited to find out where he qualified and was surprised to find out that he qualified 3rd! Mikey was thinking, wow maybe my luck will finally turn around. After the short lunch break, Mikey was out on the track in full force in his junior sportsman champ-lite go kart. Mikey was in third place within a few laps and starting to draft away from the rest of the field with the other top two cars. Unfortunately, Mikey's luck proved not to turn around as much as he had hoped when his kart got just a touch airborne coming around turn four which ended up spinning him around. Mikey's car was okay and he was just waiting for the rest of the cars to go around so he could get under way, but Mikey was never able to get going again. Mikey had the misfortune of being t-boned by one of the cars he was hoping would go by him. The car hit him full force on the right side. Mikey was fine, but was unable to finish the race due to the damage to his car. Mikey would like to say thank you to his dad and everyone who rushed to help piece his go kart together for his next race in record time. Mikey had to start his next race at the back of the pack because he would be racing a different chassis, but was happy to make it back out on the track at all. Unfortunately, this car didn't handle as well as the other one had and Mikey had been told leave the race because they felt with his mishandling car he was impeding the race. What started out as a weekend of luck turning around ended in a weekend of disappointed, but Mikey is fine and looking forward to next season being a much better one. Photos will be coming soon!
Finally... no rain for the NESPS (North East Speedway Pavement Series). On Saturday July 8th Mikey brought his crew to Poughkeepsie Speedway for a very long day. The day started with practice from 10 to 3 where Mikey was getting to know the track he has never raced on before. Mikey wasn't the only one learning, his crew chief was also learning how to set up the car for a different track. By the end of practice, they felt they were at least close to figuring it out. Ttime trials started around 4:00 p.m. where Mikey qualified in the 4th position. The green flag was flying around 9:30 p.m. for the jr. sportsman champ division. Caution came out before the first lap was completed, so they re-started in the original order several times. The race finally got under way and stayed green. Although Mikey and his crew chief (dad) realized the track changed when the sun went down, they realized it too late to make changes. Mikey's car was very tight during the race making it difficult to manage the corners. Mikey came across the line side by side with the #76 car coming within inches of a fourth place finish. Mikey congratulated the other drivers for a good race and received his plaque for his 5th place finish!
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